How Lazy Dog Restaurant wants you to join the club

When Chris Simms talks about his new membership program at Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar,he talks about building a community.“We didn’t want to play the points game,” he said. “Instead we wanted to surprise and delight the members.”Simms is founder and chief executive officer of the casual restaurant chain, which began in 2003 in Huntington Beach and now has 50 restaurants in six states. It is based in Costa Mesa.Lazy Dog’s membership program is called the Campfire Club, and it caps off five years of innovation. It launched a beer club in the beginning of 2019, followed by a line of heat and serve take-home meals called TV Dinners and two virtual kitchens, which are online brands that aren’t served in dining rooms but made in-house and available for pickup and delivery. They are Jolene’s Wings + Beer, launched in 2020, and Roadtrip Bowls, launched in 2022.Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar, an Orange County-based chain, is rolling out fresh items including a new spring menu and a membership club. (...